PEN America’s Commitment to Health and Safety at the 2021 PEN America Literary Gala
Updated Sept. 21, 2021 To protect all in attendance, PEN America will enforce a robust set of health and safety measures for the 2021 PEN America Literary Gala in New… More
‘It was like watching someone take their last breaths,’ says Afghan American Writer Nadia Hashimi
Afghan American author Nadia Hashimi reflects on the fall of Afghanistan, the future of women’s rights in the country, and how readers and writers can support one another. More
A Texas Book Ban is an Attack on the Freedom to Learn
Months after the Leander Independent School District banned books and graphic novels from its secondary school curriculum, the district released decisions on an additional set of titles. More
Four Reasons Why Educational Gag Orders Are Dangerous
As PEN America outlined in its new report, state legislators introduced 54 educational gag orders in the first nine months of 2021; 11 of them have become law. More
Notes on Critical Race Theory: An Essay by Gregory Pardlo
Artist and PEN America Trustee Greg Pardlo writes that Critical Race Theory is "a periodizing frame for our historical moment." More
The PEN Pod: On NSO Group Accountability, Payroll Credit for Compensation of Local News Journalists, and Eliminating Facial Recognition Technology from Facebook
“People are unmoored in terms of where to get credible information, and local news really used to fill that void and be a kind of informational anchor for people.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Lisa Hiton
“So often, I read work that is beautifully forgettable. As an example: Pristine couplets have their place, but amid thousands of poems, they tire. Is the couplet arbitrary or… More
PEN Pals: Nikki Grimes and Padma Venkatraman Discuss Challenged Books
“I created my [Dyamonde Daniel book] series so that emerging Black readers would see themselves represented in that genre.” More
The PEN Pod: On Horror and Humor with Melissa Lozada-Oliva
“Humor can just be a tool for showing things that are underneath, and not a shield, and that’s what I was trying to do with this book.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with the 2021 Emerging Voices Fellows
“People need stories for different reasons. Perhaps to find the meaning of life or maybe to explore other ideas and worlds. Perhaps to escape from our ordinary lives.” More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
Today, PEN America released a new report that warns about the dangers of censorious bills that limit teaching and learning on topics including racism, sexism, and American history. @jennyschuessler from @nytimes examines the findings of the report: https://nyti.ms/3CYEC5o.
We need to fund local journalism. It's one key bastion against disinformation and critical infrastructure for our democracy. Local accountability and local voices need local reporting. https://twitter.com/PENamerica/status/1457093417276780551
